Wolf's Cub
by known.to.be.anonymous
Summary: Jack is dead, Alex lives with K-unit, and he has... a boyfriend? Wolf is not happy. SLASH. Rated M to be safe.


**I do not own Alex Rider.**

**Slash.**

_Alex was desperately trying to stay afloat while avoiding the Portuguese Man O' War. One touch and the deadly creature would kill him. He could see Nadia Vole outside the tank laughing as he struggled to tread water. His legs were tiring, his clothes were weighing him down, and the giant jellyfish was drifting closer…_

_Suddenly the scene changed. Alex was racing down a mountain through the trees on makeshift snowboard as gunfire rang out behind him. If he crashed at the speed he was going he was done for, but if he slowed down he was sure he'd be shot. He didn't want to imagine how it would feel to have a bullet lodge itself between his shoulder blades. Alex burst through the trees and into a clearing. He had relived this nightmare many times and he knew what came next—the train. Alex lined himself up with the familiar mound of snow and launched himself into the air. He allowed himself to enjoy the few seconds of weightlessness he felt before he landed on the train and was viciously thrown to the other side of the tracks._

_However, this time there was no barbed wire fence to stop him. Alex rolled over several times before he came to a painful stop. His head was swimming and he couldn't quite pull all of his thoughts together, but he knew he was no longer lying in the snow. Alex gradually took notice of the key card in his hand. _'Great,'_ He thought. _'Russia.'

_Sure enough, when Alex stood Sarov was there to greet him. This was the nightmare Alex hated the most. It was the only time he had seen a man die at such a close range. He watched, unable to look away, as Sarov raised the gun to make the final shot. The sound was deafening and the blood that spattered on Alex's face made him feel nauseous. _

_The shot rang out again, this time deeper and longer. It made the earth beneath Alex's feet shake and he lost his footing. Now he was on his hands and knees in a puddle of blood. Alex raised his eyes to take in his surroundings. He was in his small home in Chelsea, and the blood did not belong to Sarov, it belonged to his beloved guardian, Jack Starbright. Jack was lying a mere foot from him with a bullet between her eyes. Alex's clothes were becoming soaked with Jack's blood, but he didn't have the strength to move. _

_The noise came yet again and the ground trembled. It almost sounded like…_

Alex shot up in bed as the thunder shook the house. The rain was coming down hard against the roof making an impossibly loud roaring noise. Everything came rushing back to Alex all at once. His missions, the faces of the people he had killed, and worst of all, Jack Starbright's tragic death. He had found her body on the kitchen floor, murdered by the same people that have been after him for the past two years—Scorpia. The next day MI6 had him shipped off to live with Wolf, or James San Luca as he was known by most, and the rest of K-unit while they were off duty.

The memories made Alex feel sick. His hand flew up to his mouth and he ran to the bathroom down the hall where he knelt before the toilet and emptied his stomach of everything he had eaten the previous day. Alex hadn't even known he was crying until he let out a particularly loud sob, and once he realized he had started he couldn't stop.

Alex had no doubt his new guardians would hear him, but he knew Wolf wouldn't bother checking on him. Ben, Snake, and Eagle were the paternal members of the group. Alex liked having a father figure for once in his life, but living with K-unit was a constant reminder of everything MI6 had put him though and everything they would continue to put him through once they felt he was "mentally stable" enough. Alex didn't think he'd ever be mentally stable again.

Ben was the first to find him. Alex was painfully dry heaving and sobbing into the toilet when he felt a warm hand rub comforting circles on his back, and an arm wrap around his midsection to keep him steady. Ben whispered soothingly in Alex's ear, but it only made the boy more upset. Every time Alex had been sick Jack was there with him to talk him through it. He knew Ben was only trying to help, but his presence only magnified the painful absence of Jack.

"Alex, you need to calm down," Ben muttered. "You're so upset you're making yourself sick." Alex knew what he was saying was true, but he couldn't be calm. He had been calm ever since he started working with MI6. Two years of bottled up emotions were finally coming out and he was in the midst of a complete breakdown.

Between the sobbing and the dry heaving Alex found he was struggling to pull in full breaths. He soon become light headed and the rest of the world seemed to wash out. He was vaguely aware of someone trying to coach him through breathing, but even that was beginning to fade.

A warm washcloth pressed to the back of his neck finally brought him out of his catatonic state. Alex hadn't even noticed Snake, or Neil as the man had previously asked Alex to call him, had entered the room.

"Hey, Al. Eagle went to go get you some water", Snake said in a sincere voice. 'You feeling a little better now?" Alex nodded, unable to speak. He wasn't feeling nauseous anymore, but he was afraid if he opened his mouth to speak he would start crying again.

It was strange seeing hardened SAS men act so concerned. Fox was occupying his time by rubbing Alex's back, trying to soothe him. Eagle had just gotten back with the water and was helping Alex to sit up so he could drink it, and Snake was telling him to "take some deep breaths" or "drink slowly so you don't make yourself sick" much like, he expected, a father would. Of course Wolf, his actual, appointed guardian, wasn't there. Wolf never really cared for Alex or any children in general. The rest of the unit told Alex not to take it personally, and he tried, but sometimes he felt like Wolf downright hated him.

However, Snake, Eagle and Fox were more than accepting of him. They had taken him under their wings and Alex was exceedingly grateful. At the moment the three SAS men were sitting around Alex as if waiting for Alex to say something.

"Sorry," Alex whispered in a broken voice.

"Sorry?" Fox repeated. "Alex, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just surprised this didn't happen sooner with everything you've been through."

"Fox is right," Snake said. "When's the last time you talked to someone about what's happened?"

"You mean… like a shrink?" Alex said. All three men nodded. "I, uh… I've never been to see one."

"MI6 never assigned you a therapist?"

"No, and I don't want one." Alex said boldly.

"Alex, seeing a therapist is nothing to be ashamed of. We all…" Eagle was cut off by Alex.

"I'm not seeing a shrink and you can't make me." Alex didn't care if he sounded childish. There was no way he was going to spill his heart out to some stranger. "Look, I'm really tired. Can I just go to bed now, please?"

The next morning Alex felt more exhausted than he had in a long time. He had hadn't gotten any sleep after returning to bed. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Jack and he knew it was his fault she was dead. Alex sighed and pulled himself from under the covers of his bed. It was after noon, everyone else had already been up for hours. He could only hope they had left the house. The last thing Alex wanted to do was talk about what happened last night, and with Snake, Eagle, and Fox in the house it was bound to be brought up. He had been too out of it to be embarrassed last night, but he was now completely coherent and absolutely mortified. He never should have let the SAS men see him in such a vulnerable state.

Alex stood begrudgingly and began getting ready for the day. He showered, brushed his teeth and made sure his hair looked "perfectly messy" as Jack used to call it. He stood and stared at his reflection for awhile. He had lost a lot of weight in the recent months and his big brown eyes didn't have the same sparkle they used to have. MI6 was systematically destroying him. First they took away his freedom, then his friends, his safety, his happiness… Alex shook his head. No more. Jack was gone and MI6 had nothing to bribe him with.

Alex stepped in front of his closet and pulled on a pair of dark jeans, a charcoal gray v-neck t-shirt and a black hoodie before making his way downstairs. He heard people moving in the family room and quickly took out his cell phone so they would think he was busy texting someone. It wasn't much of a plan, but as long it kept the older men from talking to him it would work just fine. As Alex walked into his unit's line of sight he kept his eyes on his phone and flipped through his text messages. He was surprised to see he really did have a message.

**From: Andrew**

**Hey alex! i havnt seen u in 4ever! i rlly mis u. can u tell me wer ur staying so i can cum c u? 3**

Alex bit his lip and smiled. He replied,

**Drew! I see you still insist on abbreviating everything. Haha. I miss you, too! I'm staying in the Whispering Willows complex, flat number 507. It's just outside of London. Get me out of here! 3**

When Alex shut his phone and looked up he saw all four men staring at him with mocking smiles.

"What?" he said, genuinely confused.

"Who 'ya talkin' to Cub?" Eagle said in a sing-song voice. Alex blushed.

"No one…"

"He was talking to a girl. You can see it on his face," Ben said with a grin. Eagle lunged for the phone, but Alex easily side stepped him and walked towards the kitchen to get some breakfast—or lunch, considering it was almost 12:30 pm. Snake walked in directly after him.

"Seriously Alex, all joking aside, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Alex replied. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he checked it immediately, knowing it was Andrew.

"Alex, could you please not text right now? I'm trying to…" Snake stopped talking when he saw the smile on Alex's face. "Don't think we're done talking about this." Snake walked back the living room.

**From: Andrew**

**im not 2 far from ther. 15 mins? i cud pic u ^.**

Alex replied,

**Definitely.**

Just as promised, the doorbell rang exactly fifteen minutes later. Alex sprung up from the coach and ran to the door before throwing it open. The door hadn't even been opened all the way before Alex was engulfed in a giant bear hug and lifted off the ground.

"Drew! Put me down!" Alex said through a fit of giggles.

"Never," Drew teased. K-unit exchanged confused glances. _Drew_, as Alex referred to him, was much larger than Alex. He was a good six inches taller than Alex's 5'10 frame and while Alex had lean muscles, this boy looked bulky. Drew had short, spiked brown hair and masculine features, much different than Alex's soft, almost feminine features and shaggy blond hair.

"Alex? Who is this kid?" Wolf said. He didn't sound as threatening as he usually did, but a hint of annoyance could be heard in his voice. Andrew immediately placed Alex back on his feet.

"Um… This is Drew," Alex stated. Judging by the looks on his unit's faces they wanted more information. Alex sighed. He knew he'd have to tell them sometime. _'Might as well get it over now,'_ Alex thought. _'Maybe they'll even show some mercy since Drew is here.'_

Alex cleared his throat. "This is Andrew Madison… My boyfriend." The young blonde tensed, preparing himself for the onslaught of insults he knew was coming his way. No one said a word. The room was completely silent for at least a minute. Finally, Eagle broke the silence.

"So you're gay?" He said. Eagle didn't sound mad or disgusted, only curious. Alex was so surprised by the older mans acceptance he couldn't speak. Drew seemed to notice Alex was struggling so he filled in for him.

"No, Alex is bi-sexual. I, on the other hand, am completely, flamboyantly gay." He said, pointing to his pink polo. This brought a small smile to Alex lips.

"So you're okay with me being bi?" Alex said, regaining the use of his mouth.

"Of course!" Eagle said. "Wolf is gay too."

"Eagle!" Wolf said, perplexed.

"Just don't tell anyone at camp…"

"EAGLE!" Wolf was steaming now. "What the hell?"

"What? I just figured he's bi, you're gay, why not tell him? Now there are no secrets between us." Eagle tried to look as innocent as he could. The plan must've worked because rather than beating Eagle senseless Wolf turned around and walked upstairs.

Drew cleared his throat. "Well, this has been… interesting, but do you mind if Alex and I leave now?"

"Yeah, of course, just be back by eleven," Fox said. "Be safe. 'kay?" Alex nodded but made no attempt to move, still in shock from the revelation. Drew laughed.

"Come on, Al. If we leave now we can still make it to the movie at 1:30." Drew grabbed Alex's hand and led him out the door.

"They are so cute!" Eagle squealed. His team mates just stared at him. "What?"

Wolf was confused. He wasn't mad because Alex knew he was gay, he was mad because… because… why? Why was he so mad? As soon as that _Andrew _kid walked in he just felt angry. Wolf didn't like the way the kid ran his hands all over Alex's midsection when the two hugged, or the way he looked at Alex like he was a piece of meat. He especially didn't like the way the boy appeared to be several years older than Alex. At first Wolf thought he was "going paternal" like Eagle, Fox, and Snake had, but then he realized he wasn't angry, he was jealous. He was jealous because he couldn't touch Alex the way Drew could. '_God, I'm a sick fuck.'_

Wolf saw Alex and Drew come back to the flat at quarter to eleven that night. Drew parked his car across the street and walked Alex to the front door of the building. He hated the way the two held hands the entire way and he hated the way Alex was smiling. Not that Alex didn't have the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, he just hated that Alex reserved that smile for Drew. Wolf thought he was going to explode when he saw the two kiss on the doorstep. Alex had been about to go inside when Drew grabbed his arm, spun him around, and crashed his lips to the smaller boys. Alex wrapped his arms around Drew's neck and gradually moved into the kiss. Drew's hands began to roam from Alex's slim hips to his perfect ass and…

Wolf turned away from the window completely disgusted with himself. He had just watched two young boys, one of them being his ward, make out and he had been completely turned on by it. He was totally screwed.

Alex walked in the front door with a giddy smile on his face. He was blushing feverishly and he had a certain bounce in his step that Ben hadn't seen in a long time. It was nice to see the boy so happy.

"I take it you had a good time?" Ben said with a smile. Alex laughed.

"Yeah, I did."

"How was the movie?" Alex flushed deep red and bit his lip.

"I'm not sure. We weren't exactly watching…" He said. Ben laughed and Alex shrugged innocently. "I think I'm just going to go to bed now. It's getting kind of late. G'night."

"Goodnight, Alex," Ben replied.


End file.
